Pubs are usually in the news these days because they are closing down. But after almost 15 years gathering dust, an old Cambridge drinking establishment could be set to reopen its doors.

After calling last orders in 2003, the beer pumps could once again be pouring at the old Five Bells on Newmarket Road after developers revealed plans for a new pub on the site.

"We are working on a scheme that will hopefully go to planning in the next couple of months. Our proposals will include a public house at ground floor level fronting Newmarket Road, providing the same-size drinking area as the former Five Bells,” said Simon Dazeley, director of Cambridge-based property developers Learig.

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Mr Dazeley said he could not confirm how the rest of the development would be used.

"We are aiming to make a planning application in the latter part of May," he said.

The consumer group Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has welcomed the news.

Chair of Cambridge and District CAMRA Will Smith said: “We very much welcome the news that the development will include a pub. The area has lost a number of pubs in recent years including the much-loved Bird in Hand and The Rose and Crown.

The site of the former Five Bells pub in Newmarket Road, Cambridge

“The addition of a pub will continue the revitalisation of an area that had become rather moribund and it will, we are sure, be welcomed by the local community.”

The Five Bells was included in a planning guidance document titled ‘The Protection of Public Houses in the City of Cambridge’, produced by Cambridge City Council in 2012.

The planning guidance was created to safeguard pubs in Cambridge after a string of closures.

Other pubs in the Newmarket Road area that have closed in recent years include The Bird in Hand and Ancient Druids, which are now both restaurants, while The Rose and Crown was converted into a letting agency and The Zebra is now used as accommodation.

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The formerly closed Seven Stars on Newmarket Road was redeveloped last year as part of a larger site including student accommodation.

“The area has seen the building of a substantial number of accommodation units, from student lettings to penthouse flats, as well as hotels. We would welcome the reopening of some of these lost pubs and believe that the increased number of people in the area would make the reopening a possibility,” said Alistair Cook, Public Affairs Officer for CAMRA.

Councillor Richard Johnson, representing Abbey ward where the former pub is located said: "Given the fact that many pubs in Abbey have either closed or changed beyond recognition in recent years, the proposal to include a pub at the site of the old Five Bells is, in principle, a positive development.”

He added: “Pubs, if managed well, are important venues that provide a sense of place and bring communities together."